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Monday, July 7, 2025

W.8- Iga's Summer Śwolstice


Hmmm, are we in the midst of the tennis version of an astronomical phenomenon?




The final women's 4th Rounder to be played at this Wimbledon, let's be honest, was a match that turned out to pretty much be a dud. And it'd seemed like it may have been the most fascinating contest on the docket going in. Nope.

Thus, one's mind wanders to what it might mean, and the (semi-) conclusion could be that we are in the midst of a tennis version of an astronomical phenomenon, i.e. the early stages of an extended "Iga Summer Śwolstice," if you will. One in which the "longest period of daylight," a now year-long stretch in which the former #1 won't have to worry about defending any titles or championship-winning points (and with just one final appearance -- Bad Homburg -- not having to be considered, if at all, for another 50 weeks), bumps up against "the shortest night of the year," in which what will now surely be Iga Swiatek's "low-point" of a few short weeks of feeling the pull of no longer being the reigning Roland Garros champion as well as a ranking that sunk to as low as #8 (leading to her seed at this Wimbledon) before her first career grass final bumped it back up to #4 after just one week.

From now until next year, Swiatek can really do little *other* than go up. With the (technical) weight of expectation that comes with all she's done in the past lifted (at least for a calendar year), the Pole *has* nearly made the most of a stretch of the schedule this grass season during which she usually expects even less of herself than she often produces. It's quite the mood-lifting experiece, I'd hazard a guess.

It surely sets the stage for a summer of redemption for Swiatek. It's just a matter of when and where the high points are identified. Whether or not the Pole wins her maiden Wimbledon title this weekend, or comes closer to it this week than she ever has, her stop off at the All-England Club has served to open a new chapter worthy of an Iga's Book Club recommendation.

One thing that won't be recommended for its drama would be today's match vs. #23 Clara Tauson. The Dane arrived having downed former SW19 champ Elena Rybakina, and though she's had even less (far less) success on grass than Swiatek, her big shots and surprising variety and court coverage vs. the Kazakh seemed to make her an intriguing foe for Swiatek, who has often had trouble with such an opponent even on her better surfaces, especially of late.

But Tauson was never right from the start. After a series of breaks of serve from both women to open the match, a stretch during which the Dane broke Swiatek in back-to-back service games, winning eight of nine points, everything turned against Tauson and in favor of Iga. Once Swiatek got her serve in order, she was on her game with little wavering until the close of the day, while Tauson's loose errors piled high.

Still on serve at 5-4 in the 1st, a Tauson UE put her BP/SP down. She saved it with a crosscourt shot behind Swiatek, but then the Dane pulled yet another forehand shot off the court and was down BP/SP again. Tauson double-faulted to hand a 6-4 set to Swiatek.

Tauson took a brief MTO before the start of the 2nd set, and clearly didn't feel well. Surely not well enough to put up much of a fight. Down 2-1, Tauson couldn't put away several shots in a long rally as Swiatek's defense kept the point alive until she was able to execute a passing shot to break for a 3-1 lead. At that point, it felt like a 6-1 finish, and that's exactly what it was as Swiatek advanced into her second Wimbledon QF.



Swiatek may not win this tournament, nor is she probably even the favorite to reach the final in the bottom half of the draw. But she doesn't have do, and it doesn't matter if she does. Though she still might. What is clear is that a "new chapter" has begun -- the Śwolstice era is here -- and the plot is already starting to get interesting.

Load up on the strawberries, yogurt and pasta. There's a long summer stretch ahead.








=DAY 8 NOTES=
...as the second half of the Wimbledon Round of 16 kicked off for the women, as part of a reasonably-spaced schedule and not with nearly all of the four matches taking place as ridiculously early in the line-up as possible (*still* see you out of the side of the eye, RG), we saw the official reemergence of Belinda Bencic's season being one of the stories of the WTA year.



The Swiss' comeback from having her baby hit top speed in the opening months of '25, when she followed up her AO Round of 16 in her first major appearance since 2023 with a title in Abu Dhabi. Much more seemed possible at that point, but a spring thaw occurred due to a 1st Round hand injury in Rome that also kept her out of Roland Garros.

Facing #18 Ekaterina Alexandrova, Bencic took at 5-3 1st set lead, and served at 5-4. But the Hordette broke and ultimately forced a TB, where she took a 3-0 lead after winning both of Bencic's first two serves in the breaker. But at that point, Bencic settled and simply kept the ball inside the lines, letting Alexandrova lose the tie-break mostly on her own with errors. Bencic won six of the final seven points to take the TB 7-4.

Bencic again took a 5-3 lead in the 2nd, and seemed on her way to a quick close until Alexandrova managed to save five MP and get the break on her fourth BP to get things back on serve and keep her hopes alive. Then after all that, of course, Alexandrova dropped serve from 30/love up to end the 7-6(4)/6-4 match.



The result sends Bencic into her fourth career major QF, but first at Wimbledon and first at any slam other than the U.S. Open, where she last did it in 2021. She'd been 0-3 in Wimbledon 4th Round matches, and 0-6 in slams outside of Flushing Meadows.

On ESPN, when noting that so many of the players in her section also haven't produced deep Wimbledon runs in the past, CoCo Vandeweghe said that it's "almost as if Bencic (who's 28) is the seasoned vet." Hmmm, well, maybe that's because she kinda is... Bencic started very young on the tour, after all, making her maiden slam QF at the U.S. Open *eleven* years ago at age 17. Mirra Andreeva was 7 years old at the time.

[BTW, in trying to determine by ear who the female commentator was on this one I realized that Vandeweghe's voice somewhat registers directly *between* those of Lindsay Davenport and Mary Joe Fernandez, as she sometimes sounds *a little* like both of them.]

...seeking to succeed where her fellow Hordette hadn't (and as Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova had yesterday), #19 Liudmila Samsonova looked to continue her usual mid-year surge and take it to a place she'd never gone before: a major QF.

Both she and her opponent, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, might have been hard pressed to see themselves in such a position a few months ago, as the Russian's annual slow-out-of-the-gate start saw her open at 10-11, while the Spaniard was just 3-8 in the opening months of 2025. Bouzas Maneiro's season began to turn the corner in the spring with her BJK Cup starring role for ESP in the Qualifier round. She arrived today 15-7 in her last 22, with her maiden Wimbledon 4th Round coming a year after she'd reached her first career slam 3rd Round at SW19.

One of the big things that has put a blanket over Bouzas Maneiro's results is a habit of squandering leads in matches, and that trait showed up again today. Against Samsonova, she led 3-1 in the 1st, during which the two combined for five consecutive breaks of serve in the middle of the set. Bouzas Maneiro served for the set at 5-4, holding 2 SP at 40/15. She couldn't square away the game, though, then two games later lost a 30/love lead on serve again, dropping serve for the fourth straight time after having taken that 3-1 lead, as Samsonova grabbed the opener at 7-5.

Naturally, in the 2nd, breaks were hard to come by. Both held serve through the first eleven games, staving off seven straight BP (six on the Russian's serve) until Samsonova finally broke to end the match in game 12, winning 7-5/7-5 to reach her maiden QF in a major in her 21st career MD. After her slow start, the Hordette has now won 14 of 18 matches.



Bouzas Maneiro, with a chance lost here, is still 9-5 in her last five majors, posting multiple wins at four of them. She's cracked the Top 50 for the first time in the "live" rankings, but could still fall out if Laura Siegemund were to upset Aryna Sabalenka tomorrow.

...later, Samsonova was joined by yet another of her countrywoman.



In her first career appearance on Centre Court, Andreeva once again flashed the training and natural star quality on the big stage that she's pretty much had since she first began to show up at high-level events a little more than two years ago. What she didn't allow to break loose from its moorings was the youthful (and potentially self-destructive) temper that has flared in recent weeks when things haven't gone her way between the lines.

Of course, the #7-seeded 18-year old didn't have too many occasions on this day in which she *wasn't* comfortably in the lead on the scoreboard vs. #10 Emma Navarro, who never really managed to find her own game or put herself into the match in any truly competitive way. In a sense, it was very similar to how Navarro was shipped out in the year's previous two majors, when she lost 1 & 2 vs. Iga Swiatek in the QF in Melbourne, then 1 & love to Bouzas Maneiro in the 1st Round in Paris.

Had defending champion Barbora Krejcikova (who has now also pulled out of doubles) been 100% in their 3rd Round match the other day, maybe the same scenario would have played out. It looked as if it might in the opening set on Saturday, but then the Czech's ailments stacked up and it took a major effort from her just to keep herself in it down the stretch in the final set vs. the Bannerette.

Composed and focused for all but a few spare moments, Andreeva handily won 6-2/6-3, reaching her maiden Wimbledon QF and becoming the youngest to reach the final eight at the AELTC (ask about the Last 8 Club!) in eighteen years (she's either the youngest, all at 18, since Nicole Vaidisova in '07, or Maria Sharapova in '05, as the difference is just a few days).

Andreeva didn't realize she'd converted MP in the moment (*too* focused?), then afterward noted that she tried to keep her eyes centered on the court all match because she didn't want to see Roger Federer in the Royal Box and get distracted. Addressing the eight-time champ during her on-court interview, Andreeva said that it'd been a dream of her see him "in real life" for the first time, and complimented Mirka on her dress.



Yep, Mirra's got the public relations and viral video angle down perfectly. Now she just needs to win one of these things.

...in junior play, being a tennis-playing sibling wasn't all it's cracked up to be on Day 8. Both Kovackova sisters fell, #9 Jana to Nauhany Vitória Leme Da Silva (BRA) and #12 Alena to Brit Mimi Xu, while #4 Kristina Penickova lost to LTU's Laima Vladson. Twin Penickova sister Annika hasn't played since the sisters lost in the RG doubles semis to the Kovackovas.

The top three girls' seeds are into the 3rd Round, as #1 Emerson Jones, #2 Hannah Klugman and RG girls' champ #3 Lilli Tagger all won today. Austrian Tagger defeated British wild card Ruby Cooling, whose might just have to make the "Top 10 Name List" that I realized today that I'm going to have to compile soon (featuring the likes of Cadence Brace and a few others).

Bulgarian Elizara Yaneva knocked off #10 Julia Stusek, setting up a Round of 16 match vs. #6 Julieta Pereja, who just a few days ago rallied from a set and break down against her in the Roehampton final to take the title there.

...meanwhile, in doubles, *two* women are still alive in both the WD and MX draws: doubles #1 Katerina Siniakova (QF w/ Taylor Townsend as the DC, and SF w/ Sem Verbeek) and Luisa Stefani (w/ Anna Bondar and Joe Salisbury). They play each other in the women's doubles QF.

...the wheelchair draw is out, and Diede de Groot is *not* seeded, having dropped to #5 in the rankings before she attempts to win her fifth straight Wimbledon singles title. She's won the title six of the last seven times the event has been held. She *could* face #1 Yui Kamiji in a SF, after having lost to her last week (for the third straight time in a year) at the Roehampton grass event.

If she gets past Lucy Shuker in the opener, de Groot may have to play her recent nemesis, #3 Li Xiaohui, who ended both her 145-match overall winning streak last year *and* her 52-match slam streak this year at RG.

Kamiji opens vs. Angelica Bernal, who defeated de Groot in the Eastbourne final *two* weeks ago (after having been 0-15 against the former #1, who is still on the comeback trail following hip surgery).

#2 Aniek Van Koot heads up the bottom half of the draw.

With Dana Mathewson's retirement, even with the recently-enlarged field, there are *zero* U.S. women in the 16-player draw.








*WOMEN'S SINGLES QF*
#1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR vs. Laura Siegemund/GER
#13 Amanda Anisimova/USA vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS
#7 Mirra Andreeva/RUS vs. Belinda Bencic/SUI
#8 Iga Swiatek/POL vs. #19 Liudmila Samsononva/RUS

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES QF*
#1 Siniakova/Townsend (CZE/USA) vs. #10 Bondar/Stefani (HUN/BRA)
#4 Hsieh/Ostapenko (TPE/LAT) vs. Cirstea/Kalinskaya (ROU/RUS)
Gadecki/Krawczyk (AUS/USA) vs. #16 Dolehide/Kenin (USA/USA)
#8 V.Kudermetova/Mertens (RUS/BEL) vs. #2 Dabrowski/Routliffe (CAN/NZL)

*MIXED DOUBLES SF*
Siniakova/Verbeek (CZE/NED) vs. #8 Babos/Pavic (HUN/CRO)
Stefani/Salisbury (BRA/GBR) vs. #2 Zhang/Arevalo (CHN/ELS)

*GIRLS' SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Emerson Jones/AUS vs. (Q) Eugenia Zozaya Menéndez/ESP
Nauhany Vitória Leme da Silva/BRA vs. Mia Pohankova/SVK
Laima Vladson/LTU vs. Vendula Valdmannova/CZE
(Q) Kanon Sawashiro/JPN vs. #5 Teodora Kostovic/SRB
Tahlia Kokkinis/AUS vs. Mimi Xu/GBR
(WC) Ruby Cooling/GBR vs. #3 Lilli Tagger/AUT
#6 Julieta Pareja/USA vs. Elizara Yaneva/BUL
#13 Charo Esquiva Bañuls/ESP vs. #2 Hannah Klugman/GBR








...YOU KNOW, IF IT WAS A BEST-OF-THREE MATCH... (I'm just sayin')... ON DAY 8:




...BUT THAT HAPPENED IN THE 1990s, so it didn't *really* happen... ON DAY 8:




...GREAT AD, BTW... ON DAY 8:



And if you can get an instantly identifiable song from a British singer that brings everything together and sticks in your brain... (pssst, WTA).


...JUST YOUR FRIENDLY REMINDER THAT... ON DAY 8:

...three of the eight women playing today, and half of this year's final eight at Wimbledon would have been barred from even playing the event three years ago, the public scapegoats for actions of their governments/leaders that they had no control over, in a decision that still bears the funk of 40,000 years (but without the legendary voiceover of Vincent Price -- yes, an impromptu "Thriller" reference on a Monday).

Still waiting for the All-England Club to ban players from other nations who start and/or engage in wars (i.e. blaming the zombie dancers for the evil of the Thriller... yep, another one).

Still waiting...














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*"FIRST CAREER SLAM QF in 2020s*
[at Wimbledon]
2021 - Viktorija Golubic, SUI (18th MD)
2021 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (15th)
2021 - Ajla Tomljanovic, AUS (27th)
2022 - Marie Bouzkova, CZE (14th)
2022 - Tatjana Maria, GER (35th)
2022 - Jule Niemeier, GER (2nd)
2024 - Emma Navarro, USA (7th)
2024 - Lulu Sun, NZL (2nd)
2025 - Liudmila Samsonova, RUS (21st)

*2025 WI FINAL 8*
[by career slam QF]
13 - Aryna Sabalenka
12 - Iga Swiatek
10 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
4 - Belinda Bencic
3 - Mirra Andreeva
3 - Amanda Anisimova
1 - Liudmila Samsonova
1 - Laura Siegemund

[by career WI QF]
3 - Sabalenka
2 - Anisimova, Pavlyuchenkova, Swiatek
1 - M.Andreeva, Bencic, Samsonova, Siegemund

[w/ consecutive slam QF]
4 - Sabalenka (last 11 played; DNP 24 WI)
4 - Swiatek
2 - M.Andreeva

[w/ consecutive WI QF]
1+2 - Sabalenka (last 3 MD; 2021/'23/'25; barred '22, DNP '24)
1+1 - Anisimova (last 2 MD played; 2022/'25, lost in Q '24)

[2025 slam QF - unseeded]
AO - none
RG - Boisson (WC)
WI - Bencic, Palvyuchenkova, Siegemund

[2025 1st-time GS QF]
AO - none
RG - Boisson (1st MD)
WI - Samsonova (21st)

[2025 multiple slam QF]
3 - Sabalenka (AO/RG/WI)
3 - Swiatek (AO/RG/WI)
2 - M.Andreeva (RG/WI)
2 - Gauff (AO/RG)
2 - Keys (AO/RG)
2 - Pavlyuchenkova (AO/WI)
2 - Svitolina (AO/RG)

[2025 slam QF - by nation]
6...USA (3/2/1/-) - Anisimova
5...RUS (1/1/3/-) - M.Andreeva, Pavlyuchenkova, Samsonova
3...BLR (1/1/1/-) - Sabalenka
3...POL (1/1/1/-) - Swiatek
2...UKR (1/1/0/-)
1...CHN (0/1/0/-)
1...ESP (1/0/0/-)
1...FRA (0/1/0/-)
1...GER (0/0/1/-) - Siegemund
1...SUI (0/0/1/-) - Bencic

[WTA career slam QF - active]
18...Victoria Azarenka, BLR
13...Petra Kvitova, CZE
13...Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
13...Elina Svitolina, UKR
12...Madison Keys, USA
12...Iga Swiatek, POL
11...Karolina Pliskova, CZE
10...Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS
10...Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
9...Coco Gauff, USA

[WTA slam QF & W/L in 2020s - 22 events]
13 - Sabalenka (11-1)*
12 - Swiatek (8-3)*
9 - Gauff (5-4)
7 - Jabeur (3-4)
7 - Pegula (1-6)
7 - Svitolina (1-6)
6 - Rybakina (3-3)
5 - Muchova (4-1)
5 - Keys (3-2)
5 - Krejcikova (2-3)
5 - Pavlyuchenkova (1-3)*
4 - Barty (3-1)
4 - Ka.Pliskova (1-3)
4 - Zheng Q. (1-3)
3 - Halep (2-1)
3 - M.Andreeva (1-1)*
3 - Vondrousova (1-2)
3 - Badosa (1-2)
3 - Navarro (1-2)
3 - Ostapenko (0-3)
3 - Tomljanovic (0-3)
2 - Azarenka (2-0)
2 - Anisimova (0-1)*
2 - Bencic (0-1)*
2 - Brady (2-0)
2 - Collins (1-1)
2 - Fernandez (1-1)
2 - Haddad Maia (1-1)
2 - Kenin (2-0)
2 - Kvitova (1-1)
2 - Osaka (2-0)
2 - Paolini (2-0)
2 - Sakkari (2-0)
2 - Siegemund (0-1)*
2 - Trevisan (1-1)
2 - Vekic (1-1)
2 - S.Williams (2-0)
1 - Boisson (1-0)
1 - Bouzkova (0-1)
1 - Cirstea (0-1)
1 - Cornet (0-1)
1 - Garcia (1-0)
1 - Golubic (0-1)
1 - Hsieh (0-1)
1 - Kalinskaya (0-1)
1 - Kanepi (0-1)
1 - Kasatkina (1-0)
1 - Kerber (1-0)
1 - Kontaveit (0-1)
1 - Kostyuk (0-1)
1 - V.Kudermetova (0-1)
1 - Linette (1-0)
1 - Maria (1-0)
1 - Mertens (0-1)
1 - Muguruza (1-0)
1 - Niemeier (0-1)
1 - Noskova (0-1)
1 - Pironkova (0-1)
1 - Podoroska (1-0)
1 - Putintseva (0-1)
1 - Raducanu (1-0)
1 - Rogers (0-1)
1 - Samsonova (0-0)*
1 - Stephens (0-1)
1 - Sun (0-1)
1 - Yastremska (1-0)
1 - Zidansek (1-0)

[WTA slam QF by nation in 2020s - 22 slams/176]
36 - USA (1)
21 - CZE
15 - BLR (1)
13 - POL (1)
12 - RUS (3)
9 - UKR
7 - AUS
7 - KAZ
7 - TUN
5 - GER (1)
4 - CHN
4 - ESP
4 - ITA
4 - ROU
3 - FRA
3 - LAT
3 - SUI (1)
2 - BRA
2 - CAN
2 - CRO
2 - EST
2 - GRE
2 - JPN
1 - ARG,BEL,BUL,GBR,NZL,SLO,TPE

[WTA slam QF W/L by nation in 2020s]
36 - USA (17-18)*
21 - CZE (9-12)
15 - BLR (13-1)*
13 - POL (9-3)*
12 - RUS (3-6)***
9 - UKR (2-7)
7 - AUS (3-4)
7 - KAZ (3-4)
7 - TUN (3-4)
5 - GER (2-2)*
4 - CHN (1-3)
4 - ESP (2-2)
4 - ITA (3-1)
4 - ROU (2-2)
3 - FRA (2-1)
3 - LAT (0-3)
3 - SUI (0-2)*
2 - BRA (1-1)
2 - CAN (1-1)
2 - CRO (1-1)
2 - EST (0-2)
2 - GRE (2-0)
2 - JPN (2-0)
1 - ARG (1-0)
1 - BEL (0-1)
1 - BUL (0-1)
1 - GBR (1-0)
1 - NZL (0-1)
1 - SLO (1-0)
1 - TPE (0-1)





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TOP QUALIFIER: Carson Branstine/CAN
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #13 Amanda Anisimova/USA (7 games lost 1r/2r, double-bagel win in 1st)
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): x
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): x
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q3 - #30 Priscilla Hon/AUS def. Victoria Mboko/CAN 4-6/7-6(4)/6-1 - Mboko led love/40 at 6-5 in the 2nd on Hon's serve, holding five MP
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - #6 Madison Keys/USA def. Gabriela Ruse/ROU 6-7(4)/7-5/7-5 - Ruse fights off Keys' comeback to claim 1st, then Keys fights off Ruse's comeback in 3rd, serves out on second try
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): x
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.-WC): x
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: #14 Elina Svitolina/UKR (def. Bondar/HUN)
FIRST SEED OUT: #20 Alona Ostapenko/LAT (1st Rd. to Kartal/GBR)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Veronika Erjavec/SLO, Solana Sierra/ARG, Zeynep Sonmez/TUR
UPSET QUEENS: Great Britain
REVELATION LADIES: Italy
NATION OF POOR SOULS: Australia (1-6 1st Rd.; only new Aussie Kasatkina w/ win)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Diane Parry/FRA (3rd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: no wins (0-8)
PROTECTED RANKING WINS: Caty McNally/USA (2nd Rd.)
LUCKY LOSERS: in 4r: Solana Sierra/ARG (2r: Victoria Mboko/CAN)
LAST BRIT STANDING: Sonay Kartal (in 4th Rd.)
Ms./Mrs. OPPORTUNITY: Nominee: Bencic, Pavlyuchenkova, Andreeva, Samsonova, (WC)
IT "Turk": Zeynep Sonmez/TUR (first TUR player into slam 3r)
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominees: Anisimova, Swiatek, Bencic
CRASH & BURN: #2 Coco Gauff/USA & #3 Jessie Pegula/USA - first slam w/ two Top 3 out in 1st Rd. (Gauff won RG, Pegula won grass title pre-Wimb.)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF LONDON: Solana Sierra/ARG (LL, first into WI 4th Rd.)
DOUBLES STAR: x
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Laura Siegemund/GER (oldest first WI QF at 37)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: x
SPIRIT OF JANA (NOVOTNA) HONOREE: Petra Kvitova/CZE - plays final Wimbledon match







All for Day 8. More tomorrow.
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